Activity Networks And Gantt Charts (Session 3 in the Project Planning And Management Module) Russ Pimmel Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Alabama October, 2001 The development of this material was supported by a grant from the Engineering Education Program of the National Science Foundation under award EEC-9802942 to the Foundation Coalition

Review of Session 1 & 2 Project planning and management important Plan and monitor 3 S’s Scope (goals) Spending (resources) Schedule (time) Tools for planning and monitoring projects Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Identifies “manageable” tasks “Manageable” task – estimate time & resources requirements Linear Responsibility Chart (LRC) Assign responsibility for all “manageable” tasks

Learning Objectives -- Session 3 Students should be able to Define, describe, and use Activity network Gantt chart Define Schedule PERT chart Budget Percent completion matrix

Activity Networks

Activity Network In activity network Tasks treated as activities Task completions treated as event Construct a network with Nodes or blocks Arcs or connecting lines Interpretation Blocks represents activities (tasks) Connecting lines represents events (task completions) ______________ Note some approaches use the opposite interpretation Tasks (or activities) on connecting lines Task completions (or events) in blocks

Simplified Process for Creating Activity Network List all tasks in WBS Identify Non-reduced (“manageable”) tasks Reduced (“complex”) tasks Indicate estimated time required for “manageable” tasks Note all dependencies between “manageable” tasks For “manageable” tasks, Identify Independent task – Initiation not dependent on completion of other tasks Dependent task – Initiation must wait until other task(s) completed

Simplified Process for Creating Activity Network -- Continued Construct multicolumn table of “manageable” tasks 1st column – all independent tasks 2nd column –tasks dependent on 1st column tasks 3rd column -- tasks dependent on 1st & 2nd column tasks Continue until all “manageable” tasks listed Convent to a block diagram Add “Start Task” & “End Task” blocks Include estimates of required completion times

Preparing Meal Example WBS With Estimated Times 1.0 Prepare meal ----------------------------------------- (Complex task) 1.1 Cook soup ---------------------------------------- (Manageable task -- 35 min) 1.2 Cook chicken, rice, and sauce ------------- (Complex task) 1.2.1 Boil rice ----------------------------------- (Manageable task -- 30 min) 1.2.2 Brown chicken ------------------------- (Manageable task -- 15 min) 1.2.3 Prepare sauce -------------------------- (Manageable task -- 5 min) 1.2.4 Bake chicken, rice, and sauce ---- (Manageable task -- 15 min) 1.3 Boil peas ----------------------------------------- (Manageable task -- 15 min) 1.4 Open wine and let it breathe --------------- (Complex task) 1.4.1Open wine --------------------------------- (Manageable task -- 5min) 1.4.2 Wine breathe ---------------------------- (Manageable task -- 30 min) 2.0 Eat meal ------------------------------------------------ (Complex task) 2.1 Eat soup ------------------------------------------ (Manageable task -- 15 min) 2.2 Eat entrée ---------------------------------------- (Manageable task -- 25 min)

Preparing Meal Example Dependencies Between “Manageable” Tasks 1.1 Cook soup (35 min) ------------- Independent 1.2.1 Boil rice (30 min) ----------------- Independent 1.2.2 Brown chicken (15 min) -------- Independent 1.2.3 Prepare sauce (5 min) ---------- Depends on 1.2.2 1.2.4 Bake chicken dish (15 min) -- Depends on 1.2.1, 1.2.3 1.3 Boil peas (15 min) ---------------- Independent 1.4.1 Open wine (5min) ---------------- Independent 1.4.2 Wine breathe (30 min) ---------- Depends 1.3.1 2.1 Eat soup (15 min) ---------------- Depends on 1.1 2.2 Eat entrée (25 min) ----------- Depends on 1.2.4, 1.3, 1.4.2, 2.1

Preparing Meal Example Dependencies Between “Manageable” Tasks 1st Column 2nd Column 3rd Column 4thColumn 1.1 Cook soup 2.1 Eat soup 1.3 Boil peas 1.2.1 Boil rice 1.2.2 Brown chicken 1.2.3 Prepare sauce 1.2.4 Bake chicken dish 2.2 Eat entrée 1.4.1Open wine 1.4.2 Wine breathe

Preparing Meal Example Activity Network 1.1 2.1 Cook soup Eat soup (35 min) (15 min) 1.3 Boil peas (15 min) 1.2.1 Start Boil rice (30 min) 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 2.2 Brown chk Prepare sa. Bake chk Eat entrée Finish (15 min) (5 min) (15 min) (25 min) 1.4.1 1.34.2 Open wine Wine br. (5 min) (30 min)

Activity Network – Team Exercise Task -- Construct a AN for an assigned problem Use the WBS developed earlier Process -- Work as a team Individual brainstorming (2 minutes) Building consensus (5 minutes) Reporting results (2 minutes) Randomly selected individuals report team’s AN

Gantt Charts

Gantt Charts Bar graph showing start and end times of each activity Vertical axis list tasks Horizontal axis shows time Derived from activity network with completion times Includes resource constraints Manpower constraints Limited resource constraints

Simplified Process For Drawing Gantt Charts List all tasks on vertical axis Use hierarchical format Schedule “manageable” independent tasks first Limited resource or manpower constraints may limit number of simultaneous tasks Delay tasks with least dependencies Schedule “manageable” dependent tasks Again limited resources or manpower constraints may delay some tasks Repeat for each task level Iteratively adjust the schedule to meet all external deadlines and resource constraints

Gantt Chart -- Example Time 0__10__20__30__40__50__60__70__80 1.0 Prepare meal 1.1 Cook soup (35 m.) XXXXXXXXXXXX (35) 1.2 Cook chk. dish 1.2.1 Boil rice (30 m.) XXXXXXXXXX (30) 1.2.2 Brown chk. (15 m.) XXXXX (15) 1.2.3 Prepare sa. (5 m.) (15) XX (20) 1.2.4 Bake chk. d. (15 m.) (30) XXXXX (45) 1.3 Boil peas (15 m.) (30) XXXXX (45) 1.4 Prepare wine 1.4.1Open wine (5m.) XX (5) 1.4.2 Wine brth. (30 m.) (5) XXXXXXXXX (35) 2.0 Eat meal 2.1 Eat soup (15 m.) (35) XXXXX (50) 2.2 Eat entrée (25 m.) (50) XXXXXXXXX (75) ________________________ Cooking peas must be delayed because both pots are used for soup and rice.

Gantt Chart – Team Exercise Task -- Construct a GC for an assigned problem Use the AN and WBS developed earlier Process -- Work as a team Individual brainstorming (2 minutes) Building consensus (5 minutes) Reporting results (2 minutes) Randomly selected individuals report team’s Gantt Chart

Other Tools Scheduling calendars Standard calendar with project deadlines inserted Budget Itemized listing of resources (including manpower) required for each task PERT chart PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) Diagram similar to the Gantt chart showing task dependencies and scheduling Percent completion matrix List of all tasks showing percent of resources expended along with the percent of the task completed

Commercial Project Management Software Microsoft Project Primavera